The first Ma’ariv prayer together with the wonderful lesson of our teacher, the holy gaon and tzaddik Rabbi Eliezer Berland shlit"a, after his release. Today, 12 Tevet 5782, from the balcony of his holy and pleasant home, through the kindness of Hashem! A blessed day of redemption.

Baruch Hashem, from the pearls of the tzaddik from last night (unfortunately there were many disruptions; this is what we managed to glean with Hashem's help) after Ma’ariv with the tzaddik—thanks to Hashem:

“The Rebbe wanted us to be like animals roaring in the forest for entire nights— in this world and in the World to Come you should cry out! Cry out like lions!”

“We were walking among lions—ten huge lions came near Victoria Falls. We began to pray Minchah and the lions were growling, roaring! All the soldiers arrived; they saw the lions attacking us. We didn’t care—at worst they would eat us—and suddenly they fled! Because Avraham Avinu jumped into the fire, smashed the idols, entered the fire—he didn’t think he would be saved! Haran (his brother who entered after him) thought he would be saved, so he was burned. But he merited Rivkah—Sarah, who was his daughter, and Rivkah his great-granddaughter—so all of them are from Haran.”

“The crocodile farm—soon we will visit the crocodile farm, as it is written: ‘the great crocodile that lies within his rivers.’ Pharaoh is called the great crocodile; the Zohar says there are ten crocodiles. And therefore it is the Tenth of Tevet—tenth of the tenth (from Nisan)—which subdues the crocodiles.”

“On Motzaei Shabbat everyone travels to Hebron, because 1 Shevat is truly Rosh Hashanah; all the Rebbes (Admorim) had the custom to travel to the graves of tzaddikim on the eve of Rosh Chodesh Shevat. Everyone will say all of Tehillim the entire night, because they do all the tikkunim on 29 Tevet, Motzaei Shabbat next week—everyone does all the tikkunim of Rosh Hashanah. After that they eat fruits; it is written in ‘Davar Be’ito’ to eat fruits, because in the future the halacha will be like Beit Shammai. You go according to Beit Hillel; we go according to Beit Shammai.”

“It is written in Avodah Zarah (8a) that Adam HaRishon made two Chanukahs: Chanukah according to Beit Shammai (who lights eight candles on the first day and each day decreases by one candle), and Chanukah according to Beit Hillel (adding and increasing like us). And therefore Yosef asks: Do you have a father or a brother? (A-B like Beit Hillel, or A-CH like Beit Shammai)…”

From sunrise until sunset, Avraham managed to circumcise one hundred thousand people! Because he was obligated ‘in the midst of that very day,’ because they wanted, first thing, to slaughter him and make shawarma out of him! (the Rav jokes) Shuvu Banim make shawarma out of people for Melaveh Malkah… each time they grab someone, and if he isn’t kosher they make him kosher—stick scales and fins on him—and then he’s a fish like that…”

“What is ‘the great crocodile that lies within his rivers’? It is written: ‘In that day Hashem will punish with His hard and great and strong sword Leviathan the slant serpent, and Leviathan the twisting serpent; and He will slay the crocodile that is in the sea’ (Isaiah 27:1). Bariach is male; Akalaton is female. And He will slay ‘the crocodile that is in the sea’—this is the Tenth of Tevet! Then they subdue the crocodile—this is the evil inclination, which appears like a crocodile and swallows people alive; it can even swallow lions—like the lions that fled.”

“Because Avraham jumped into the fire and said: Why wasn’t I burned?! I wanted to die for Kiddush Hashem! Because the Tenth of Tevet is to die for Kiddush Hashem. People performed circumcision and jumped from rooftops because it was a death sentence. On Chanukah, the Chashmonaim—like now they want to forbid circumcision! Day and night, every hour, they make a program in the media; in prison we saw programs about how they want to abolish circumcision! Truly wicked, evil people!! There were none like them since the creation of the world—and they are all reincarnations of snakes.”

“So on that day: ‘and He will slay the crocodile that is in the sea’ (ibid.)—it was the Tenth of Tevet, the yahrtzeit of Rabbi Natan—so it is the yahrtzeit of our Rebbe! Because the Rebbe and Rabbi Natan are one thing.”

“And through the songs and the Ma’ariv prayer with intention, word by word, we kill all the crocodiles and all the snakes! And we will merit the complete redemption speedily in our days, amen.”

Until here are the holy words of our teacher, the holy gaon and tzaddik Rabbi Eliezer Berland shlit"a.

To give thanks and praise—Father, thank You so much